Reports emerged on Wednesday that Harvey had "refused" an invitation from the book's author Les Everett to be interviewed for the book, which celebrates the Dockers' two decades in the AFL.

But Harvey claimed it wasn't true, telling Fairfax Media on Tuesday afternoon that Everett's request to interview him for Fremantle Dockers: An Illustrated History had simply come at an inopportune time, too soon after he was axed by Freo in mid-September 2011.

"Les [Everett] had texted me and I rang back a month or two later and said it was probably not time to be talking about things. I was still coming to terms with things and he said 'I can understand that'.

"It wasn’t an appropriate time, three or four months after [the sacking]. A few other things had happened at that time. Personal things.

"I don’t want to take the gloss off the book. It's a wonderful story club of a club that had to fight for everything it’s got now."

The respected author and journalist - who was Fremantle's first member-elected board member - told Radio 6PR Sports Today he contacted Harvey more than 18 months after his departure as coach.

"I just had a check and it was April 2013 I got in touch," Everett said.

"He [Harvey] was really emphatic that he did not want to talk now or in the future. I could understand that. To me it was 'no means no', it wasn’t an 'I will think about it'.

"We communicated by text and my last thing was to say 'it’s an in your own words thing, warts and all, and if you change your mind get back to me'. I wasn’t going to harass him about it and I could certainly understand the way he felt."

Harvey, who described Everett as a "man of integrity", said he had received a copy of the book in the post this week.

He jokingly told 6PR Breakfast's Steve Mills and Basil Zempilas that he might make himself available for interview for a 50th anniversary re-print.

"I'm not sure if I’ll be around that’s all," Harvey said.

Harvey coached Fremantle to 39 wins from his 97 games in charge and most notably led the surprise packet Dockers to the second week of the 2010 AFL finals.

But he was sacked with a year to run on his contract, after an injury-plagued 2011 season in which Fremantle missed the finals.

His replacement, former St Kilda coach Ross Lyon, has taken the Dockers to a semi-final and then a grand final in his two years at the helm.

Fremantle Dockers: An Illustrated History is available for purchase from the Dockers shops at Subiaco and Fremantle. It will be launched more widely in bookstores from August 1.